It's Okay To Think that "24" Is Kind of Stupid (And Still Love it)

Published May 24, 2010 at 4:31 AM | Updated at 11:43 AM PDT on May 30, 2012

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Are you ever that person sitting on the couch watching "24" in a group, and biting your lip because it's just so out there and stupid sometimes?

As we ready for the final preposterous ending of the show tonight, breath easy. "24" executive producer Howard Gordon says its okay to have some serious factual issues with Jack Bauer's weekly world saving efforts.

"We really, really required a lot of latitude from our fans," Gordon said in a recent conference call. "And I think our side of the contract was to keep it interesting and keep it exciting."

The dramqa and excitnt came at the expense of reality.

"Even when these moments felt somewhat preposterous or strained, hopefully they were always interesting," he added, "even if you wanted to sort of yell at the TV. As long as they’re yelling, we’re happy."

The show creator's motto was even "not good, never boring." And "24" certainly lived up to that motto. That was their "contract" with the audience -- keep it all moving in that nifty real-time formula and audience members then turned a bunch of blind eyes to some of the unintentional hilarity.

Of course there are times when this contract backfires. That happened with the Dana Walsh character this year which became a focal point of fans' anger. Gordon addressed the Walsh-storyline calling it a "insane story" and a "confused and crazy character."

"Look, it’s crazy. There is a girl from Rock Springs who somehow manages to get in to CTU as an analyst under an alias," said Gordon. "It’s crazy."

Those are the breaks of the "24" game. "Every season there is something that people seem to fixate on," said Gordon. But it definitely moves.